Intro: Christians Who Don't Worship Christ

Until recently, I took it for granted that all Christians understood and agreed on at least one simple fact: That the Bible teaches Messiah Jesus of Nazareth (his life and teachings) is the definitive, perfect, and final revelation of God. After all, the writer of Hebrews makes this much clear:

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven."
- Heb. 1.1-3 (NIV, emphasis added)

Or consider Jesus's answer to Phillip's request to see the "Father" (God) to whom Jesus keeps referring,

"Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
- John 14.8-9 (NIV, emphasis added)

Or, if Jesus's words don't impress you (as has especially become the trend among Calvinists), and you need Paul's didactic teaching style to convince you, consider this gem:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form…"
- Col. 2.8-9 (NIV, emphasis added)

What a fool I've been: I presumed there was at least one common area of agreement among those who call themselves "Christians"—that we worship Christ! But, from recent discussions online and offline, it appears I was wrong. Instead, what I've learned is that some look for a god behind and beyond Jesus. For them, other revelation must be added to Jesus in order for them to receive God's "full" self-revelation. Why they insist on calling themselves "Christians" then, I couldn't tell you. Perhaps a more appropriate label might be "godians."

In particular, the "Christians" with whom I've been discussing are angry about Greg Boyd's proposal of a "cruciform-centric" hermeneutic 1. Boyd is unabashedly influenced by Anabaptist theology, which has historically advocated for a Christ-centered (christo-centric) reading of Scripture. This is nothing new. Even Calvinists claim to be Christ-centered these days. 2 What Boyd adds to this interpretive methodology is the biblical idea that discipleship is the process of emulating one's Master. (Shocking, I know!) Since Jesus laid down his life, and we are Jesus's disciples, we too are called to lay down our lives—to demonstrate radical, self-sacrificial love (Eph. 5.1-2; Phil. 2.1-11; I Jn. 3.16). This process is now being called "cruciformity"—being formed by the cross, living out cross-shaped love. 3

The objection from some is that this approach is an external grid being imposed on the Scripture, and is therefore eisegesis (importing meaning to the Text), rather than exegesis (drawing meaning from the Text). Objectors also claim that such an approach undermines Scripture's inspiration and authority. By applying the lens of Jesus's cross to passages where God is depicted as violent (for example), these objectors also claim Boyd is attempting to ignore portions of Scripture or cut them out of the Bible entirely. 4

In what follows, I will demonstrate that the Bible itself, namely the book of Revelation, teaches Jesus-disciples to apply the cruciform-centric hermeneutic that Boyd describes. In so doing, I will prove that the cruciform-centric hermeneutic is not some external grid being imposed upon Scripture, but is instead Scripture's own teaching for Christians. Therefore, the cruciform-centric hermeneutic is the appropriate interpretive methodology for Christians (i.e. those who worship Christ).